where to next?

June 14, 2017June 17, 2017

Wowie Maui

If your parents ever love you enough to take you to Maui (thanks mom n dad), make sure you head straight to Black Rock Beach. Crystal clear water as far as the eye can see, surrounded by rocky cliffs that transition into a diverse reef once under the tide make up the shoreline of Black Rock Beach. Black Rock, or Pu’u Keka’a, is a scared site known as ka’leina a ka’uhane-the place where the soul leaps into eternity. Today, locals and tourists alike can be seen leaping from the cliffs, plunging into the deep waters below. Some crazies even flip!! (Cough cough Max).

After cliff jumping a few times, Avery and I wanted to see the underwater oasis below. Strapping on a snorkel and mask, I once again cursed the heavens for not blessing me a fin and the ability to breathe underwater (a shell bra and flowing mermaid hair wouldn’t be too bad either). I’m not sure if I can even put into words how incredible this reef was. As explained earlier, the cliffs continued into the ocean, creating caverns and cracks and craters that sea life glided in and out off. Large crabs scuttled along the bone white coral while needle fish darted back and forth in front of my eyes. Glimpses of iridescent scales had me swimming along with schools of fish though this seemingly unreal reef. Mountains upon mountains of sea fans and coral and kelp suddenly dropped off, leaving me exposed to the open ocean. I’ve never felt more like Nemo in my entire life. Mama Bear kept trying to rein me in, and her thought process was probably something along the lines of Madison’s swimming out to sea!!!

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This whole trip I’ve been talking about how badly I wanted to see a turtle in its natural habitat. Yesterday, I didn’t just see one turtle, there were like 6 of them! And they were like the size of tables!! And they were nice and wanted to hang out with me! Unlike my siblings….. (just kidding). But it was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I actually felt like mermaid (Aquamarine or Ariel, whichever one). I swam alongside this turtle for a while, just weaving through the coral towers with this seemingly mystical creature. It was like swimming in a giant aquarium. Which I guess is what the ocean is-but you get the picture.

That night, we went to Leilani’s on the Beach and literally had the best seats in the house. I’m not kidding. Imagine eating on the top deck of a really nice house while overlooking the bay where sailboats breezed by while the sun set in a tie dye sky of fuchsia, tangerine, and marigold. Like literally as I’m digging into my grilled ono and sweet potato gnocchi-to die for, by the way-a sailboat docked right in front of me, letting off the weary but pleased tourists that had the pleasure of cruising around the bay all afternoon. The combination of the colors in the sky, the food, the incredible view, and just the inherent magic of the island made me question how anyone here could ever be unhappy.